Pathetic Rangers Writer Voted Michael Young as AL MVP

Sure this news is a few days old but that tends to happen during the holidays every now and then. In this particular case, I couldn’t let this piece of hilarity sail by without comment even if my thoughts were somewhat belated. Michael Young for MVP? That’s what Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News thinks should have been the case. Yes, the Rangers writer and perhaps Rangers superfan voted for Michael Young as MVP of the league. Now anyone who followed baseball this season knew how inexplicably stupid this was as soon as they heard of the heartwarming hometown vote. But before we look at some numbers, you must first enjoy a good laugh at this excerpt from Grant’s explanation:

My eyes told me Michael Young meant more to the Texas Rangers and their success than any player in the American League.

Right. And every five days my eyes told me that Freddy Garcia is forever trapped inside an invisible sauna. So while his effort was beyond commendable considering the uneasy circumstances in which he pitched, Freddy’s numbers left him well short of any personal accolades. The same goes for Young, save for one writer’s explosive Ranger pompoms.

According to FanGraphs, Young was sixth, yes sixth, on his own team in WAR and 58th overall. Ha. Now sure, not every site calculates WAR the same, but I’m going to safely assume Young isn’t cracking the top 5 on anyone’s abacus. He also finished 14th overall in OPS. Guess where the legitimate AL MVP candidates finished in OPS? In five of the top six spots. The only thing dumber than Michael Young getting a vote for AL MVP is Major League Baseball’s the BBWAA’s bizarre, anticlimactic timing of the announcement.